My role model

She was a pampered princess to her father. She was the darling of the household and yet she never let her ego take over her. She did her schooling from a non-english medium school yet she went on to finish her post grad in M.A Economics in english medium.

She got married to a man who was never there for her in every aspect. She was never treated with respect at her in-laws place yet she never lost respect for her elders there. She gave birth to a daughter when she was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and yet she went on to have a second baby, a son, and completed her family. She worked despite all the odds to feed her family and also secured her children's future. She faced many storms in her professional life. That didn't stop her form working. She educated many college girls on her own money. She still gives away prize money to whoever tops in the subject she teaches ( Economics ).

She was always there for her kids, was part of their small joys and sorrows. She made her parents proud. She never lost passion for life. She tries to find joy in all the small things and big. She wanted that life for her daughter which she missed.

Wondering who am I talking about? Who else could I know this well than " My Mom " ? Yes, she's my role model and one person I look up to for everything. Today the relationship we share is more like friends than a mother-daughter one.

I always wonder if only I could be 1% of what she is and make her proud of me. I love her and since I'm down with cough and fever now, I miss her so much. Wish she was here, sitting next to me, stroking my hair.

" Miss you Mom, I so wish you were here "

Love

R

Aloo Bhaath

One more rice recipe coming your way...................................

Ingredients :

• Potatoes : 2 medium sized cut into small cubes
• Rice : cooked 1 cup for 1 person
• Ghee / Butter : 3 tablespoons
• Ginger - Green chillies - coriander leaves paste : 3 tablespoons
• Garam masala : 1 tablespoon
• Salt : for taste
• Turmeric : half teaspoon

Procedure :

• Cook rice and keep aside.
• Heat ghee or butter in a wok or kadai and fry potatoes until they turn golden brown ( they should look like potato chips but in the shape of cubes ).
• Now add ginger - green chilly - coriander leaves paste. Along with it add salt and garam masala and mix well.
• Now add rice to the above mixture and sprinkle turmeric powder to get the colour.

Your Aloo Bhath is ready. Have it with raita................... try it and tell me how it turned out.......

Till the next post ............................ Love All and Serve All.............

R

Onion Rice

Hey guys I'm back with another rice recipe........................

Ingredients :

• Rice : cooked 1 cup serves one person
• Onions : 1 medium sized
• Green chillies : 2-3 slit lengthwise
• Curry leaves : 5-6
• Urad dal : 1 teaspoon
• Chana dal : 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds : 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds : 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida : a pinch
• Salt : for taste
• Garam masala : 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder
• Oil : 2 table spoons
• Coriander : for garnishing
  

Procedure :

• Cook the rice and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a wok or kadai and add urad and chana dals along with cumin and mustard seeds and asfoetida.
• After the dals change colour, add onions, green chillies, surry leaves and let the onions turn soft.
• Then add the cooked rice and mix it well.
• Now add turmeric powder, garam masala and salt and mix well and cook for a minute before taking it off the fire.
• Garnish it wih coriander.
• Serve with raita.

Till the next post ..................... Love All and Serve All.............

R

Potato Curry

YYYYYuuuuuuummmmmmm........ the taste is still in my mouth.......................I made potato curry for dinner tonight. I wanted to make this when I made sambar but since sambar is a heavy stuff, I thought I'll have it with rasam. It is deadly combination with sambar, rasam and you can also have it with roti.

I got this recipe from a site on web. I cannot recollect which site it was but it was something I have been looking for and I found it easy to make. I have added few powders to the recipe, giving it my personal touch but otherwise it is pretty much how I found it on the site.

Ingredients :

• Potatoes : 250 gms ( boiled and peeled and cut into small cubes )
• Onions : 1 large, chopped
• Green chillies : 2-3 optional
• Curry leaves : 6-7
• Garlic : 5-6 pieces
• Oil : 2 tablespoons
• Urad dal : 1 teaspoon
• Cumin seeds / Jeera : 1 teaspoon
• Mustard seeds / Rai : 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida : a pinch
• Salt : to taste
• Red chilly powder : 1 teaspoon
• Sambar powder : 1 table spoon
• Turmeric powder : 1 teaspoon
• Coriander / Cilantro : for garnishing.

Here are the ingredients I added to the recipe. These are optional but I would recommend using them for that extra taste.

• Jeera / cumin powder : half teaspoon
• Coriander / Dhania powder : hal teaspoon

These ingredients are part of sambar powder but when you add them separately you get an extra taste.

Procedure :

• Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and cut them into small cubes.
• Marinate the potatoes with salt, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, sambar powder, cumin powder and coriander powder by adding little water and mix properly and let it stay for half an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida and once the urad dal turns brown, add garlic ( gralic should be smashed so that the taste of comes out ).
• Then add onions, greenchillies, curry leaves.
• Once the onions turn soft and pink, add the marinated potatoes and mix. Cover and cook for a minute or two. Keep mixing so that it doesn't get burnt.
• Granish it with coriander.

Have it with rice or roti / bread. I loved making it and having it. Hope you guys enjoy the dish too. Do let me know how you liked it.

Till the next post...............lots of love..........

R

Khichdi Recipe

It was time for my husband to get back home from work. I make him something tasty to munch on everyday by the time he's back home. Today I was hungry too by that time and I didn't know what to make. I was going through the recipes collection I got and my eyes landed on Khichdi. I didn't have all the ingredients that were mentioned there and thought I would check out an alternate version of the same on the web and started searching and I found two recipes different from each other and also different from the one I got in my collection. So I did this, mixed all the three and made a Khichdi out of it. I used the ingredients I have at home and this came out.

When I tasted, it reminded me of my school days.I had a friend in school who almost always got Khichdi and her mom made an amazing Khichdi. I always told my mom how different it was from the regular one. I didn't know how my friend's mom made it then but I sure know now and I would love to share it with you guys.

Ingradients : ( in the order of using them )

• Rice : 1 cup for one person
• Moong dal : 1/2 cup
• Ghee / Butter : 2 table spoons
• Cumin seeds / Jeera : one table spoon
• Mustard seeds / Rai : one table spoon
• Asafoetida / Hing : half table spoon
• Garlic : 4-5, minced
• Ginger : small piece, minced
• Onions : 1 medium sized, chopped
• Green chillies : 2-3 slit along the length
• Carrots : 2 chopped
• Potatoes : 2 chopped
• Cumin / Jeera powder : half teaspoon
• Coriander / Dhania powder : half teaspoon
• Garam masala powder : 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric powder : half teaspoon
• Salt : 1 teaspoon
• Red chilly powder : half teaspoon
• Coriander leaves : for garnishing

Procedure :

• Soak the rice and moong dal together in water.
• Heat ghee in a vessel used for cooking rice. Once the ghee is heated, add asfoetida, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
• After the mustard seeds start sputtering, add chopped onions along with green chillies and minced ginger and garlic.
• Once the onions are cooked soft and they change colour to pink, add the vegetables.
• Let the vegetables cook for 2 minutes. Then add the soaked rice and dal and mix well.
• Now add salt, red chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Then add water and cook it closed till it is done.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.

Your Khichdi is done. Serve it with love and achar. I'm sure they would want more and more of it.

Till the next post eat healthy !!!!!!!!!!!

R

Different Daals - Cooking made easy - Session 1

I wanted to post on Indian daals or lentils which we use in our cuisine. I saw many fellow bloggers from the west visitng our blog for the recipes. I thought it would be easier for them if I could write on daals and what name I give them and what all I use in the seasoning. So here it is.

I am ashamed to say that I myself do not know the names of some lentils in Hindi. I remember all the names in Telugu, which is my mother tongue. So I searched for the names on the internet and this is what I found on About.com. I would suggest visiting that site for information on daals and I shall name the daals here in Telugu and what it is called in Hindi. Guys, visit the site for pictures.

• Masoor Dal : Erra kandi pappu
• Saabut Moong Dal : Pesalu
• Moong Dal : Pesara pappu
• Toor / Arhar Dal : Kandi pappu
• Split Urad Dal : Minapa pappu ( with pottu , pottu means covering )
• Urad Dal : Minapa pappu
• Chana Dal : Senaga pappu
• Kabuli Chana : Senagalu
• Lobia : Alchandalu
• Rajma : Rajma

Hope you guys will not find it difficult to find the right ingredients in my recipes from now on. Happy cooking.

R

Tomato Rice

I have written about one procedure for making tomato rice when I published the post on Pudina / Mint rice with raita and promised to post on other method of making tomato rice. So here it is.

This is the recipe I love to make every time I'm all alone and there's no one else to eat coz this is an easy one to make and I dont like to prepare the regular meal when I'm all alone. Here's how to make it.

Ingredients

• Tomatoes : 3-4
• Rice : 1 small cup would serve one person
• Onions : 1 large one cut into thin long pieces
• Green chillies : 2 ( makes it not too spicy )
• Curry leaves : quite a few
• Urad dal, Chana dal, Cumin seeds, Mustard seeds : half teaspoon each
• Asafoetida : about a pinch
• Garam masala : half teaspoon
• Oil : for seasoning ( depends on how you use regularly )
• Salt : to taste
• Turmeric : half teaspoon
• Red chilliy powder : half teaspoon ( optional but I would suggest adding it )
• Coriander : chopped, for garnishing.

Procedure

• Cook the rice and keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan and all the ingredients for seasoning i.e chana dal, urad dal, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida in that order.
• After the dals turn golden brown, add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves.
• After the onions are cooked, add chopped tomatoes and let it cook soft.
• Now add salt, turmeric, red chilly powder, garam masala powder and let the whole mixture cook for 2 minutes.
• Now add rice and mix well. Add the chopped coriander before taking the tomato rice off the stove.

Till the next post enjoy the rice recipes

Love

R

Natural colour for hair - Henna preparation

I don't believe in artificial hair colours as I'm always scared I would lose my hair but since I have premature greying of hair, I have no choice but to colour it. So I use henna for colouring my hair.

This is how I prepare it.

You would need :

• Henna : one cup would be enough for short hair
• Yogurt : 3 table spoons
• Fenugreek powder : 2 table spoons
• Amla powder : 2 table spoons
• Tea decoction : half cup ( use it at the end to mix everything so that you can use as much as it requires )
• Lemon juice : from one whole lemon
• Egg white : of one egg

The above ingredients are for one cup of henna.

Uses of the above ingredients :

• Henna is a natural colouring agent and also a conditioner. It cools off your scalp.
• Fenugreek in yogurt is beleived to get rid of dandruff and Lice in the hair ( I shall post on using the preparation of yogurt and fenugreek, for the same purpose, soon.........)
• Amla powder makes the hair black.
• Lemon juice is again used for dandruff treatment.
• Egg white is a conditioner.

Procedure :

Mix all the ingredients and keep aside for atleast 4-5 hours. I usually make this preparation and let it stand by overnight and then apply it the next morning. That would leave an amazing colour.

For those of you who do not want the regular coulour of henna, mix beet root juice for burgundy colour. Instead of mixing the tea decoction at the end, add 2 tablespoons of decocotion and then mix the beet root juice finally. In this case avoid amla powder.

There are two methods of using the henna preparation. One is for hair conditioning and other for hair colouring.

For hair conditioning, apply oil to the hair at night and then apply the henna the next morning and leave it for 2-3 hours before washing it off with a shampoo. This leaves a mild colour and conditions very well.

For hair colouring, apply henna first and then let it stay for 2-3 hours before you wash it off with water ( do not use shampoo immediately ) and after the hair dries completely, apply oil and then shampoo the hair the next day. That will take care of both conditioning and colouring too.

Hope this post of mine was of some help to you. I am not sure if there would be any reaction to these because I have seen many use it and I personally use it and I haven't found anyone including me have any side effects or allergies with the above preparations. In any case I would suggest you take a patch test to make sure it leaves no side effects.

Till the next post, stay beautiful and healthy.

Love

R

Vermicelli Upma

This is a very healthy dish and it is supposed to be a favourite of kids too. Try it out.........

Ingredients :

• Vermicelli : 2 - 3 small cups ( 1 small cup serves one person )
• Carrots : 2 medium-sized, chopped into small pieces
• Peas : half cup
• Beans : chopped into small pieces , half cup
• Tomatoes : 2 small ones, finely chopped
• Green chilles : 2 ( optional ), finely chopped
• Curry leaves : 5-6
• Onion : 1 medium sized, finely chopped
• Ghee / Butter : one tablespoon
• Oil : 1 tablespoon
• Jeera : half teaspoon
• Rai / mustard : half teaspoon
• Chana dal : half teaspoon
• Urad dal : half teaspoon
• Asafoetida : a pinch
• Salt : to taste
• Water : for 1 cup of vermicelli add one and half cups of water

Procedure :

• Heat ghee / butter in a kadai or a pan and add vermicelli once the ghee is heated. Roast the vermicelli to golden brown colour. Take the roasted vermicelli into a plate and keep it aside.
• In the same kadai or pan, heat the oil and add chana dal, urad dal, jeera, rai / mustard, asafoetida and after the chana and urad dal change colour to brown, add green chillies, curry leaves and onions.
• Now add the vegetables and after they are fried for a minute, add water and salt and the whole mixture boil for 2 - 3 minutes and once the vegetables are done, add vermicelli to the mixture and let it cook till all the water is gone. Keep mixing so that the mixture does not stick to the pan.

You also get roasted vermicellin in the market. When using that, make sure you put the vermicelli into the pan after you put the vegetables and before pouring in the water. Let the vermicelli take some oil. This avoids stickiness in the dish and the vermicelli comes separated.

Also add tomatoes at the end, i.e before putting in the water. Otherwise, the sourness of tomatoes doesn't allow the vegetables to cook.

Hope you liked the dish.

Till the next post, Happy cooking !!!!!!!!!!!!

R

Off to Hyderabad!!

Ticket booked waiting list though

Waiting for the day to come

Dreaming about meeting my near and dear ones

Going to home town after 6months.

playing with my little niece.

Eating lots of Mangoes.

Attending a wedding.

Enjoying Mom's cooked food.

Experience with Scorching heat.

Here I am off to Hyderabad.See you in a week.

Pudina / Mint Rice with Raita

Mint rice is one of my favourite recipes, not just because its tasty but also because it is easy to make and doesn't involve much of a procedure. Mint cools off your body. I found this recipe in a local newspaper, tried it and it turned out well. I'm sure you'll like it too. So here's the recipe.

Ingredients :

• Rice : cooked ( depending on how much you eat or the number of members you are cooking for , I used 2 medium cups for me and my husband )
• Mint : 2 bunches or 2 cups of mint leaves, same as the measure of rice
• Green chillies : I used 2 green chillies to make it not too spicy, for those who eat very less spice use 1
• Ginger - garlic paste : 1 tablespoon , I used ginger and garlic pieces
• Salt : according to your taste
• Cloves, Cardamom, Cinnamon : 2 pieces each
• Oil : 2-3 table spoons ( use according to your preference, I mean you could use less or more )

Procedure :

• Grind ginger, garlic, green chillies and mint leaves into a paste by adding salt to it( if you are using ginger - garlic paste, then just grind mint leaves and green chillies together ).
• Now heat oil in a wok or a pan and add the spices ( cloves, cardamoms and cinaamon ) and then the ground mixture to it.
• Once all the water goes off and the oil starts to float, then add rice to it and mix it well, keep it for not more than 2 minutes on the flame and remove it.

Raita

Ingredients for the Raita :

• Yogurt : 250 gms ( would serve 2 people but then it again depends on how much you consume )
• Tomatoes : 2 - 3 , finely chopped
• Onions : 2, finely chopped
• Coriander : finely chopped, for garnishing
• Salt : as per your taste
• Green chillies : your choice, 1 - 2, finely chopped

Procedure :

• Mix all the ingredients and your Raita is ready.

This is one kind of Raita. The Raita I prefer to have is the one with cucumber.

Cucumber Raita

Ingredients and procedure are almost same, instead of tomatoes, I add cucumber ( Kheera ) and I dont add green chillies to that. Instead, I add red chilly powder, just a pinch and I also add about 2 - 3 table spoons of sugar. I also don't add onions to this but if you prefer, then you can have onions added to the cucumber raita.

Your mint rice is ready to serve. Have it with Raita or you can have it as it is. I would also suggest to have it along with sliced cucumber. the heat of the rice and the coolness of cucumber is really amazing.

With the same procedure for rice, you can also make coriander rice, tomato rice, palak / spinach rice. Just replace mint with any of the above mentioned vegetables and the respective rice is ready. Although, with tomato you would want to boil it first, peel the skin and then grind it separately from ginger, garlic and green chillies. There are other methods to make tomato rice and I shall post them later.

Hope you will enjoy this dish by both making it and having it.

Til the next post, eat healthy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R

Blog Update

Hello Readers,

We have updated our blog with the labels " Posts by R " and " Posts by T ". Now you can read our posts directly under our labels.

Hope you have a great week ahead...... Happy blogging !!!!!!!!!

Love
R & T

Raw Mango Pickle / Aam ka Achar / Mamidikaya Kharam

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions. 

Until the next, yummmmmmmmmmmmm.........

R

Koot - recipe

It has been a long time since I posted any recipes. I guess it is time I posted one. Here it comes..........



Koot is the recipe of Tamilnadu. I have a Tamilian friend who's mom is an amazing cook. I've learnt quite some recipes from her and this is one of them. Whenever I like something I eat at anyone's place, I ask the procedure to make it and try it at home. I love South Indian food but I love experimenting with dishes from all over the world, provided they are tasty and healthy.


Ingredients :

• Kaddu / bottle gourd : 250 gms ( cut into cubes of medium size, like you cut for Sambar )
• Toor Dal / Pulses : one small cup ( about 100 gms )
• Coriander : for garnish
• Oil : 2 tablespoons
• Salt : as per taste
  

Ground paste ingredients :

• Fresh coconut ( not the dried one ) cut into small pieces : about 50 gms
• Jeera / Cumin seeds : 2 table spoons
• Red chillies ( dried ) : 5 - 6 ( number depends on how hot you prefer the dish to be )

Procedure :

• Pressure cook the toor dal and the bottle gourd pieces and keep it aside.
• Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and red chillies into powder and then a little bit of water to it and grind it into a thick paste.
• Boil the cooked mixture of dal and bottle gourd for about 5 - 10 minutes by adding salt as per your taste.
• Now add the ground paste to the boiling mixture and let it boil for not more than 2 minutes and take it off the heat.
• Garnish it with coriander.
  

Koot can be made with cabbage also. The procedure remains the same, except that you substitute the bottle gourd with cabbage. It is supposed to be very healthy if you don't make it very spicy. I prefer to eat it less spicy.

Till the next post, eat healthy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love

R

Thoughts to Conquer

"Are you searching for job"? inquired my mother as she was worried about me sitting at home.

"At your age I was traveling alone with a month-old kid in my hands" said my MIL.

When there was a discussion on money, my husband told that "our parents worked harder and harder to earn each penny and we people got everything right in front of our hands".

"This is the generation of opportunities and you are not availing these" said a caring uncle who visited my home the other day.

My mother-in-law always says that she entered into an empty home when she got married.Everything we have now at our home (including our house in hyderabad) was my in-laws hard-earned and she is very proud of it. Same is the case with my parentswho would list out the items they have to buy, like gas connection ( it was very difficult getting a connection those days ), television, cooler..etc and used to tick off when they bought them. After marriage I didn't have the need to buy anything; everything was ready at home.

Their lives were always rotating around compromise, patience, dedication, sacrifice, hardwork. They have blossomed from those hard days. They walked for miles together to school, took care of their kid sisters and brothers, never traveled to any place, never bought a Saree for themselves as they thought that they could save money for future use. Their lives are inspirational. They have BIG stories to tell. Sometimes I feel that I am nothing in front of them.

Frankly, I didn't have a chance to sacrifice anything. Once my husband told me "my parents must be proud that you are their daughter-in-law". This is the biggest gift you can give to your parents.

Though I am lucky when compared to them, I feel that I should imbibe their qualities to achieve great heights in life. After all I have to narrate big stories from my life to my children and grand-children.

Love
T